I’m not really a moisturizer person, just because I don’t like gooping thick amounts of smelly white cream on my face. Plus, they can get very expensive. So when I received a sample of this, I pretty much ran out and got it.

Although the name says “Gel-Cream” I wouldn’t call this a cream at all. It’s a watery, green gel. Which is nice, because unlike a cream, the gel doesn’t sit on top of your skin. It sinks right in.

It does have a smell, it’s made with grape seed extract so it does smell like grapes. The scent can be overpowering at first, but I didn’t notice it once it’s on my face.

This little 1.7 oz jar will last you a very long time. The price of the product runs around $6, but there’s always coupons on the internet for Garnier moisturizers. You need a pea sized amount to cover your entire face, so I’m projecting that I won’t have to buy a new one for 2 years, which is great for my wallet!

As for what it actually claims to do, I have found that this product moisturizes really well. Because it sinks so well into my skin, my skin looks glowy and feels softer than before.

The Pros:

Being a gel moisturizer is refreshing, and I love how it moisturizes without my face feeling goopy and covered in cream.

The Cons:

The smell might throw some people off, but it didn’t bother me much.

The Bottom Line

9/10

I think this is an excellent product and well worth your money, whether you look for high-end or drugstore products.

I found this on clearance for $2.55 a few weeks ago at Target, but it’s still available for $3 online at elf.com, but there’s no telling for how long it will be available as I don’t think this is a permanent palette!

I have a few of the elf Studio blushes, and I thought that this palette would be a lot like those-sheer in color. But in fact, these 4 colors are the exact opposite!

Starting off with the colors themselves, the palette comes with two blush shades, and two “contour” shades. In reality, the left of the two contour shades is a skin toned one and on most skin tones would be a highlighter. The first pink is a babydoll pink with no shimmer. The second pink is a hot pink with golden glitter. The first contour is skin toned with some shimmer in the pan, but it doesn’t transfer to the skin. The second contour is an matte, orange toned brown.

The texture of these 4 shades is really nice. Not a single one is powdery. The are all extremely creamy, and as a result, blend like a dream!

The packaging is alright, there’s no mirror or any writing on the back. The only problem that I have with it is getting it to open. The bottom half is very slim, the same width as the top, so when you go to grab the side to open it, you have to work to grab just the bottom part so you can open it.

The Pros:

The texture is gorgeous, and the colors can work on all skin tones which is great. The price is great too, since you get 4 cheek colors for just $3!

The Cons:

The packing could have been orchestrated a bit better, but it’s not too bad.

The Bottom Line:

9/10

I am so happy that I picked this up! This will be a staple for me in the winter to warm my cheeks up, and if I need to travel, this is the only blush/bronzer I will grab!

There are few colors of eyeshadows I love more than gold. It’s just the perfect, universal eyeshadow shade that is guaranteed to make you look like you have your life together. Since gold shimmer eyeshadows are my weakness, I absolutely had to pick this one up. This is the Clinique Color Surge Eyeshadow Duo in the shade Sahara Gold that I picked up from a Cosmetics Company Outlet for only $12.

I’m going to be honest, this is a really boring product. There’s just nothing exciting about the color, or the shimmer, or anything at all really.

I don’t know why this is called an “All Over Face Color”, because seriously, do you put pink colors all over your face? No, Bare Escentuals, no.The color itself is very sheer. In fact, all you really see of it when it’s on your face is the shimmer it gives. It does give a nice glow, I’ll give it that.

To show the shimmer

The packaging on this product absolutely sucks. It’s the same size as their mineral eyeshadows, so around the size of a quarter, and let me tell you, smushing a blush brush in that little lid is a major no-no. It sucks. And I, as the unsatisfied consumer, should not have to endure such poor packaging.

There is a swatch above, if you can tell, and I used a TON of product to build it up to that intensity.

The Pros:

It gives a nice glow, kinda…

I guess it would be nice if you wanted to set a cream blush, but still retain the glow because this has next to no color.

The Cons:

Pretty much all above.

And the price online is like $19 or something for it (don’t quote me). Waste of money.

Although this is your typical small concealer brush, I love this because it’s only $1 and easily found at Target. It’s a synthetic brush, which it great because it works well with so many products. What I really love is the multi-purpose points of this brush. It’s perfect for pinpoint concealing, running shadow along the bottom lashline, applying eyeliner, and applying lipstick! The bristles are thick and dense, which really made this brush stand out.

The Pros:

I pretty much just listed them above <3

The Cons:

None!

The Bottom Line

10/10

No shedding, the brush feels solid, it can do so much, and it’s only $1. I’m running out as soon as possible to grab some more! I’d highly recommend it!

The product comes in a black tube embossed with ‘M’s and gold accents. It’s twist tube style, but very slow, and since the product is so soft, I would not recommend twisting it farther than just beyond the top.

Before you apply this, I warn you to make sure you don’t have dry or chapped lips, or this lipstick will show up absolutely horrendous! There’s so much glitter that it gives a foiled effect and highlights any imperfections on your lips. Also, there’s a very strong, fruity scent emitting from the lipstick, so I’m not sure what’s up with that.

I personally don’t care for this lipstick much. It’s not just that I’m not into glittery makeup, it’s the feeling when it wheres off after a little while. All you’re left with is coarse glitter on your lips and it’s a horrible feeling!

True to life color

Now what really gets me, is on the product page on the Milani website, it claims that this lipstick “nourishes, hydrates, and delivers a sheer wash of color with clarity and perfect radiant shine. It instantly comforts dry, chapped lips, and provides long-term moisturization.”

Ha. It was very opaque, drying, and oh yeah, there was more shine from the glitter than a four-year-old’s tiara. Nice try Milani.

The Pros:

I love the baby pink color.

…

The Cons:

It’s far too soft for my taste, the products smells weird, and there’s so much glitter that it looks like it came from a child’s makeup kit.

The Bottom Line

5/10

I’m just not impressed. Yeah, maybe I’ll wear it occasionally with a cream finish gloss over top to tone it down a bit, but other than that, it’s unfortunately going to sit in my drawer.

Yesterday I visited an outlet mall near me, and I decided to pop into the Bare Escentuals outlet store.

Now, the only makeup-oriented store I had ever visited before is Sephora. I know, I have yet to make it to an Ulta! So, for those of you who haven’t been to ‘makeup-oriented stores’ or are relative newbies when it comes to makeup, I thought I’d give you a rundown of my experience!

The store itself was very nicely set up, with all the displays and what not, and a big table in the center where the workers could do swatch tests and show you how their makeup works.

While I was there, one of the ladies very kindly did a full face of makeup on me using their mineral foundation, an all over face powder for a bit of depth, and their famous mineral veil.

As for the makeup she put on me, it looked fine when she first put it on, and about an hour later I looked like I had been aged 10 years. It was positively ghastly! My undereye circles looked awful (despite her applying “concealer”), and all of the powder had settled into the fine lines under my eyes, which generally aren’t noticeable. Not impressed!

Since I went to an outlet store, all of the prices were severely marked down as opposed to what you would find at Sephora or Ulta. For example, I bought a radiance color in Rose Radiance (review coming soon!), which only cost me $6.50, but is listed as $19.00 on their website. Lipglosses from the Bare Escentuals line were $6.50, and many of the brushes were listed as $6.50 as well. They had a nice display of eyeshadows that were $9.50.

Overall, it was a pretty nice store. While I’ll stay away from the face products if I go back, the prices were phenomenal and a lot cheaper than drugstore makeup!

Have you visited a Bare Escentuals Outlet store? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

I recently got some pictures taken and needed a powder to keep the shine away since it was an outdoor shoot in the forest. A word of advice for those doing photoshoots in the forest: if you think you have enough bug spray on, add two more coats. I got 27 mosquito bites. When you look at the photos, you can definitely tell how forced my smile is! Anyway, I was looking for a basic setting powder with little color that would be able to keep my complexion fresh in the hot sun. I decided to try out the ELF Translucent Matifying Powder which retails for $3, and it was definitely put to the test!

You know how when you’re in the store and the colors of products look amazing, but when you get home and actually try it, it turns out to be a big disappointment?

Yep. That’s this product.

In real life, the color is a muted bright fuschia color in the tube, and while I knew the color wouldn’t exactly transfer to my lips because it’s just a lip balm, I thought I would get something!

A slight tinge of pink.

I reviewed the coral color in this range, and it is lovely. But “Marble” is nothing more than a soft clear gloss on your lips, really.

The Pros:

It’s pretty to look at in the tube?

The Cons:

You get so little product.

This color is not something I’d associate with ‘marble’.

It’s almost completely clear.

CoverGirl prices these at an insane price (in my defense, I got it on sale with coupons, so it only cost me $1.99)

The Bottom Line

2/10

What it comes down to is personal preference. If you buy this product for the tint, please skip this color. For eight bucks it’s not worth it. But, if you are looking for just a soft gloss to add to your lips without the stickiness of lip gloss…skip this too 😀 One of the many $1.99 drugstore lip balms will do the job just as well!